Darius Agoumba is a professor of chemistry who had a long educational journey prior to joining Wayne State College’s faculty.
Agoumba’s education started in his home country of Benin, Africa. Once completing primary and secondary education, Agoumba decided to pursue higher learning.
“I like challenges, I like debating, and I am always eager to learn,” Agoumba said.
Traveling from Russia to Delaware to Alabama, Agoumba earned multiple degrees. These accomplishments include earning a master’s degree in applied chemistry, a master’s degree in physical chemistry, and a doctorate in analytical chemistry.
Coming from a French– speaking country, Agoumba had to learn English during his education in America.
“If I was able to do it here, you should be able to do it. I am not at home, you are,” Agoumba said. “I think of it as encouragement, that they have the language and the tools to accomplish their goals.”
With his numerous degrees and vast chemistry expertise, Agoumba found himself teaching at Wayne State.
“I couldn’t wait for the job to come to me. When I applied, I didn’t care about where I was going. I knew wherever I was going, there was an opportunity to fix that environment, and the place can also fix me,” Agoumba said. “Everybody knows everybody, my classes are small, and now on this campus people can come to my office without having met me.”
Coming from a small town originally, Agoumba said he likes the close-knit community that comes with living in Wayne.
“I am not obligated to be here; I could be in Omaha or Lincoln. There are not many people on campus who look like me – I look different and I am different,” Agoumba said. “But the impacts I’m making here I wouldn’t be making in a big city.”
“I love knowing that he is there to help me,” said Kara Dunphy, a chemistry major at WSC. “I know he’s here to benefit me and my career later down the road.”
In the summers when school has concluded and students have graduated, Agoumba said he loses a little bit of his purpose, but during times such as Homecoming he feels elated. As past students return to campus, he gets to see their growth and who they have become.
“The most important part of teaching is when a student graduates and comes back greater than me,” Agoumba said.
Despite the snow and not having food in town that suits his taste, Agoumba has made a home for himself here and has subsequently found a place in the hearts of many students.
